Ever notice how most meal prep advice assumes you have unlimited free time and a deep passion for chopping vegetables? “Just spend six hours every Sunday cooking 47 perfectly portioned meals!”
Right. Because that’s exactly how you want to spend your weekend.
Here’s the truth: You don’t have to turn your kitchen into a commercial cooking operation just to end up eating the same sad chicken breast five days in a row.
Here’s how to meal prep for the week without it taking up your whole weekend.
How to do macro friendly meal prep
Before we get into the different ways to approach meal prep, it’s worth knowing that any of the methods outlined below can be adapted to support your macro goals.
The key is to log your meals or recipes into your food tracking app at some point during the meal prep process, to make sure they align with your calorie and macro targets. You might also find it helpful to spread your macros fairly evenly across your main meals throughout the day.
For example, if you’re aiming for around 100 to 120 grams of protein, you might try to get 25 to 30 grams at each main meal and use snacks to help fill in the rest. Prepping ahead gives you the flexibility to portion things out strategically instead of scrambling to hit your numbers at the end of the day.
That said, it’s much easier to hit your macros if you have a system for weekly meal prep. Keep reading to learn how to do this.
Not sure what to eat for your needs and goals? Grab my free macros and calories calculator + guide to get your personalized numbers.
Start by identifying or creating your meal prep system for the week
A system is a series of processes strung together. Something that we don’t always appreciate about meal prep is that it’s not a single task or even a single process.
For instance:
- First, you need to identify what you want to eat, find any recipes you’re going to use for the week, and make a grocery list. You may also need to talk to anyone else in your household to find out what they want as well.
- Second, you need to buy the ingredients. This might mean going to one or several grocery stores or scheduling grocery delivery. You also need to decide how often you are going to go to the store during the week.
- Third, you need to make the meals. This might include batch cooking, cooking in real time during the week, or a combination of both.
There isn’t a wrong or right way to do this, but having a sense of your system and what days you’re going to complete each of the tasks will help make meal prep faster and more predictable. Admittedly, it is a bit of planning and work up front, but it should save you time in the long run.
Additional tips for systemizing your weekly meal prep
If you’re tired of constantly doing things like googling basic cooking times every week, try these simple strategies:
- Stick a cheat sheet on your fridge with cooking times for your go-to ingredients.
- Keep a running list of meals you and your family enjoy so you can rotate through them.
- If you like leftovers, cook enough for multiple meals.
- If you always run out of protein (hello, teenage boys), buy and cook extra.
- Have picky eaters? Choose two things that can be cooked the same way at the same time in the oven.
How to meal prep for the week if you don’t like cooking or eating the same thing every day
You don’t need seven identical, color-coded containers lined up in your fridge – especially when, by Friday, you won’t want to eat them anyway. Instead, think of your food like Legos or building blocks you can mix and match throughout the week.
A balanced meal that keeps you full, satisfied, and provides a variety of nutrients usually includes:
- Protein: Chicken, ground turkey, tofu, eggs
- Fiber: Veggies, fruit, beans
- Starchy carbs: Potatoes, rice, pasta
- Fats: Cooking oil, cheese, avocado, sauce
Each of these = a building block.
How to use a weekly meal prep building block method
Rather than making full meals, try this approach:
- Cook a couple of proteins (chicken, ground turkey, tofu) that you can mix and match throughout the week.
- Grab or prep ready-to-go carbs (microwavable rice, frozen quinoa, pasta, potatoes).
- Roast some veggies – or buy them pre-chopped or frozen so you can air-fry or sauté them on demand.
- Stock up on flavor boosters (sauces, seasonings, toppings).
How this comes together during the week
That ground turkey you prepped?
- Monday: Taco bowl with rice and salsa
- Tuesday: Mediterranean plate with hummus and cucumbers
- Wednesday: Harvest bowl with sweet potato, avocado, and veggies
Another helpful meal prep time saver is to build in short cuts
If Sandra down the street wants to mill her own flour, that’s fine. But if you don’t have the time (or desire) to do that, you have other options, including:
- Grabbing a rotisserie chicken
- Buying pre-chopped veggies
- Using microwavable grains
- Keeping frozen shrimp on hand for protein emergencies
- Embracing bagged salad kits
These time-saving hacks make meal prep faster and more realistic.
Final thoughts on meal prepping
Meal prepping is a skill, which means it takes time to learn how to do it well. If you’re newer to this, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to struggle forever. You might just need some practice. Also, your meals don’t need to look like they belong on Pinterest.
The goal is simple: Make food that keeps you satisfied, matches your preferences and budget, and that you actually want to eat—or at least don’t mind eating. Sometimes that might be a colorful, exciting bowl, and sometimes it’s just getting protein and veggies onto your plate. Both are exactly what they need to be. Either way, it’s not worth stressing over.
